For a few short months, dozens of part-time importers in New Jersey relentlessly compete to get the fruit into the hands of an eager diaspora.

The mangoes were supposed to be here two hours ago.

Yakin Shah paced the parking lot of a cargo warehouse at Newark Liberty International Airport, beads of sweat moistening his scruffy beard and clouding his aviator glasses. His fingers clutched a stylus, obsessively swiping his phone for any update that his precious fruit had cleared customs.

He awaited 800 boxes of mangoes that had flown in the night before from a warehouse in Pune, India, with a stopover in Dubai. Nearly all had been presold to customers and stores in the area through Swadesi Mangoes, Mr. Shah’s side gig when he’s not running a convenience store in Kearny, N.J.

But when the mangoes finally arrived, he saw that they hadn’t been refrigerated. Condensation from the delicate fruit had soaked